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Social media moves so fast that it's not surprising when small changes to each platform go unnoticed by some users. Because these changes are made solely to increase the user experience, I think it's important to review the most significant changes every now and then. Here are five LinkedIn updates from the last few months that you should take advantage of to boost your financial firm’s online marketing efforts.

1. LinkedIn Publisher:

Linkedin Influencers (industry leaders) have been able to publish content directly through LinkedIn for a while, but as of February, all 277 million active users are now able to publish content on LinkedIn. The change was made to encourage LinkedIn users to view the platform as a major news source. LinkedIn has been rolling out this new feature to users over the past several months. Read more.

Takeaway

Get active on LinkedIn. Not only is LinkedIn a great place to find valuable content, it allows you to position yourself as an expert by publishing content. Do you have a blog on your website but want more readers? Or maybe you want to share your opinion on an article you read? This new publishing platform will give you the opportunity to expand your content’s audience and continue to position yourself as an industry expert.
2. LinkedIn “Who Viewed Your Profile” section:

This new feature is an incredible upgrade. It allows you to categorize the people who view your profile by profession, industry, geographical location, or keyword searched. This is a very new feature and LinkedIn is rolling it out slowly, so it may not be available on your profile yet. Read more.

Takeaway

There will be various ways to utilize this new tool, but to start, use this tool to learn which geographic locations people are searching from and how they are searching for you (keywords). Then you can adjust these sections accordingly. Make sure your profile is complete and optimized, as this will help you appear more often on others' profiles and will encourage them to connect with you.
3. Linkedin “How You’re Connected” tool:

Another revamped feature from LinkedIn is the “How You’re Connected” section. This is a visual tool that explores your path to connect with another LinkedIn member. This will be very helpful in strategically growing your connections and networking. Read more.

Takeaway

Make valuable, thoughtful connections. If you are looking for an introduction to someone you don’t know yet, you will now see exactly how you are connected to this person. Take advantage of this information, and ask the closest connection that you do know for a LinkedIn introduction.
4. LinkedIn Showcase pages:

Because many companies have various facets and services, LinkedIn released showcase pages in November. These pages are extensions of your company’s main page, allowing the business to easily segment their multiple brand messages to the right audiences. Read more.

Takeaway

If your business has multiple divisions or locations, utilize these pages. For example, your financial firm could have one main company page with three additional showcase pages: one for estate planning, one for retirement planning and one for financial planning. This will provide followers with the most targeted information (the information that they actually want).
5. LinkedIn company page analytics:

As people are more and more focused on measuring the ROI of social media, all social networks are continually evolving their analytic tools. In particular, LinkedIn has added additional features that let you see how your company updates are engaging, as well as information about your follower base, including demographics, referral source and trends. Read more or watch a quick video.

Takeaway

Measure your past efforts and do what works. We know social media management can be time consuming, so don’t keep putting effort into social tactics that are having zero success. Also, know who your active followers are (so you can target more people like them) and know what they like (so you can create more content your target audience actually wants to read).

Have you found that other updates have dramatically increased your marketing efforts on LinkedIn? Which ones? We would love to add to this list.

About the Author

Entrepreneur, author, speaker, and worldwide connector, Amy McIlwain is recognized internationally for radical new ways of thinking about Social Media, PR, marketing, advertising, and customer service.
A former NCAA Division I Soccer player, Amy started building and designing Websites back in th... More